Occupational Therapy (M)

The West Virginia University Division of Occupational Therapy provides education to students as well as professionals to achieve its’ mission of improving the health of people in West Virginia and beyond. The Division of Occupational Therapy in the School of Medicine at West Virginia University prides itself on providing a rigorous, diverse, challenging, and comprehensive education to both student occupational therapists and occupational therapy professionals.

Our program offers a 3-year undergraduate/graduate Masters in Occupational Therapy program. This type of program is also known as a 2 + 3. Students typically complete 2 years of pre-requisite courses and then apply to the program.

Once admitted students complete an additional 3 years, 2 years undergraduate followed by 1 year of graduate studies. Students can also apply to the program after they have completed a Bachelor’s degree and the pre-requisite courses. Students receive two degrees while in the program, a Bachelor of Arts in Human Performance and Health and a Masters of Occupational Therapy.

For over 15 years, our program has been committed to excellence in occupational therapist education. We encourage you to browse our website to learn more about our diverse and experienced faculty, our comprehensive curriculum, and our excellent student outcomes.

Once admitted, students complete three years of professional and clinical education. Students receive two degrees during the program: a Bachelor of Arts in Human Performance and Health (after the first two years) and a Master’s of Occupational Therapy (MOT) at the end of the program. Our program begins in June of each year and accepts 40 students a year.

Graduate Program Application Requirements

The following is required to apply to the OT Program

Completion of the online OT application

Applications are available to complete from November 15 to February 15th for admission into the program in June of that year.

Completion of 60 hours of volunteering or working with two or more occupational therapists

• OT experiences must be completed with at least two different Occupational Therapists in at least two different sites.
• Students must be supervised by OTs at the sites. Supervision by an OTA is not acceptable.
• Students must submit verification of the hours with the application by completion of this form.

Two recommendations from supervising occupational therapists

• Students must submit two recommendation forms completed by two OTs who supervised their OT volunteer/employment experiences.
• Recommendations must be submitted on the official recommendation forms provided to students when they complete the electronic application.
• Recommendations must come from OTs at two different clinical sites.
• Recommendations from OTAs are not acceptable.

Completion of the Prerequisite courses.

• Information regarding prerequisite courses can be found here.
• Prerequisite course GPA and Overall GPA must be at least a 3.0 to be considered for admission (a higher GPA is typically required given the competitive nature of the program).

Application Deadlines

Fall Priority

English Proficiency Requirements

All applicants whose first language is not English must provide proof of English language proficiency. WVU accepts either the TOEFL or the IELTS for this purpose. Learn more about our English language proficiency requirements.

Accreditation Information

WVU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.